Review on Geopolymer Pervious Concrete

Abhisek Rath1, Pritam Samantaray 2, Dillip Kumar Bera3 and Ashoke Kumar Rath4
1,2
M.Tech Scholar, School of Civil Engineering, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
3,4
Faculty, School of Civil Engineering, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
E-mail: abhisekrath6090@gmail.com, 29900ps@gmail.com, 3dberafce@kiit.ac.in, 4akrathfce@kiit.ac.in
1

Abstract—Now a days pervious concrete is being used as an alternate material for pavements due to its benefits in
reducing the quantity of runoff water, recharging water Table and enhancing the pavement skid resistance during
rain. This paper encounters not only the pervious behavior but also introduces geopolymer as an alternate binding
material to Portland cement. Geopolymer binder is produced by a polymeric reaction of alkali liquids with silicon
and the aluminum oxides in source materials like fly ash and slag which has its application from fluid to dry
concrete like reinforced beams and masonry units. While making of pervious geopolymer concrete various types
and sizes of coarse aggregates, ratio of binder to aggregate and dosages of plasticizers are also studied and
mentioned. Despite its porosity and permeability behavior, other properties like workability, mechanical and
durability properties have been extensively studied.
Keywords: Geopolymer, Pervious, Alkali Liquids, Porosity, Durability, Mechanical Property’s

1. Introduction properties. Mix process, the susceptibility of newly

Pervious Concrete is a special concrete containing
high excess content that allows the air or water to move
through the concrete and consists of a judiciously packed
amount of adhesive and an aggregate system with a
uniform particle size or particle size distribution with little
or no sand. The paste in the previous concrete customs a
thick layer around the total particles, binding all particles
together while a large amount (15–25%) of the total
interconnected spaces in the concrete remains. Precast
permeable concrete is highly permeable, with water flow
rate of about 0.34 cm / s (480 inch / h). Precast concrete is
usually with 2 to 8 mm continuous pores, 18% to 35%
industrial content, and pressure resistance ranging from
2.8 to 28.0 MPa. The use of silica smoke and can
significantly enhance previous concrete strength. The
addition of polymer (styrene butadiene rubber) can
improve the viability of previous concrete, strength,
permeability as well as resistance to freezing of solubility.
The fiber can add on vacuum presence, porosity,
compressive strength, and most importantly, betterment in
the tensile strength. As a fragile material, the mechanical
behavior of the former concrete is strongly influenced by
the spread of the crack, or the behavior of the fracture.
Concrete berths are often exposed to break up fatigue. It
can be used in building garden areas, areas with light
traffic, pedestrian corridors, tennis courts, greenhouse, and
other civil engineering and architectural works. The void
content allowss to be used in thermal insulation, sound
insulation, concrete layer for plants / living organisms, &
water cleaning. Therefore, the previous concrete is
naturally welcoming.[5],[9]
Geopolimeric concrete is the outcome of the
interaction of alumino-silicate materials with alkali for the
production of inorganic polymer binder. With the
efficiency of using other industrial byproducts, the
geopolymer binder can reduce the CO2 content by up to
80%, in relation to OPC. Properties of the geopolymer,
although their chemical composition is significantly
different and the reaction carries many traditional concrete
integrated geopolymers, and the mechanical properties of
hardening materials appear to be alike to that of OPC
concrete. [4],[8]
Geopolymer interaction occurs when alumino-silicate
materials, like fly ash, high furnace slag, and metakaolin,
are activated with a extremely accumulated alkaline
solution, for example, 10 M sodium hydroxide or higher.
Since the reaction rate of these substances is low at
ambient temperature, ground polymerization is removed at
a high temperature, for example, 50C or higher. In fact,
dealing with very alkaline solution, caustic alkaline
unmanageable & heat treatment is crazy in the field. As a
result, the manufacture of a geopolymer complex is
designed in pre-casting facilities. Fly ash was the most
widely used alumino-silicate in the production of
geopolymer cement and composite concrete by partial or
total substitution of ordinary Portland cement. In addition,
substituting cement for cement reduces CO2 emissions
during cement production. In fact, cement production
accounts for 5% of total CO2 emissions from human
activity in the atmosphere. Equally important, the partial
replacement of cement with FA has shown improved
freshness, stiffness and concrete strength.[10]
Geopolymers is generated by polymerizing alumino-
silicate oxides with alkaline polysilicate that produce Si-
O-al bonds. Constituents of biopolymer binder are alkaline
liquids and source materials. Alkaline fluids are normally
sodium or potassium founded solutions. The source
materials must contain high amount of silicon and
aluminum of geologic root, secondary materials like clay,
metakaolin, fly ash, bottom ash, slag, ash and rice husk
can also be implemented. The use of a geopolymer
comprises of a lower amount of greenhouse gases and,
therefore, more environmentally affable constricting
substances as in case of traditional Portland cement. In
tally, geopolymers have belongings such as greater
strength, good mechanical properties, little creep &
shrinkage, &better opposition to acid & sulphate
attacks.[6],[7]
 Review on Geopolymer Pervious Concrete 375

2. Materials crushed stone, recycled aggregates from concrete & brick

[2], [7]. The size of the same generally varies between
2.1 Fly Ash
4.75 mm to 12.5 mm in order to improve/ obtain the
Fly ash with different specifications are being used by desired level of porosity. Evidences prove that the
various authors. Some mentioned about specific gravity recycled coarse aggregate utilization can result in a
(2.55 [2]) while some mentioned about its proportion with compressive strength of 30–40 MPa in case of concrete
coarse aggregates i.e. 1–8 by weight [6]. Similarly, some while in case of bricks it can be about 5–9 MPa [7].
also represented this by the fineness of 2250 cm2/gm [7]. The list of various materials used by different authors
Authors also tested the constituents of the same in order to to obtain the desired degree of compressive strength as
relate properly the test results as well as classify it as per well as the permeability is hereby represented in Table-2
the ASTM standards. SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 made up for quick reference.
71.7% of the FA whereas the CaO content was 19.4%. It TABLE 3: MATERIAL LIST
can be classified as Class C [7]. The properties of the
different mineral admixture as presented by the authors is
depicted in the Table 1.
TABLE 2: PROPERTIES OF MINERAL ADMIXTURE, [2], [10]
1 -- ASTM C crushed Zone II
Properties GGBFS C-Fly F-Fly Kaolite HPA 150 gravel[4.75mm-
[wt. %] Ash Ash [wt. %] Type I 9mm, 9mm-
SiO2 31.52 30.84 66.56 45.14 Portland 12.5mm,
Al2O3 12.22 9.93 22.47 33.32 cement 12.5mm-16mm,
Fe2O3 1.14 5.01 3.54 11.99 16mm-19.5mm]
CaO 44.53 39.61 1.64 4.13 2 Coal-fueled power CEMEX -- --
MgO 4.62 0.35 0.65 1.37 plant & class C Type IP of
K2O 0.33 1.01 1.75 0.13 Portland
Na2O 0.21 0.90 0.58 0.07 cement
SO3 3.24 11.43 0.10 0.48 3 Lignite fly ash -- Two type [1.18– Normal sand
TiO2 1.03 0.45 0.88 2.19 4.75, 4.75– 0.001–
P2O5 0.02 0.11 0.11 0.56 12.5]mm 1.18mm
Loss-on-ignition 0.79 7.62 1.66 0.41 4 Metakaolin -- Siliceous --
(wt.%) Aggregate
Blaine (m2 /kg) -- 441 -- -- 7 Fly ash[Class C], -- -- --
Fineness (wt.%) -- 73.7 -- -- NaOH, Na2SiO3,
Na2O
9 Fly ash [Class C ] ASTM Granite --
2.2 Alkali Activator & Silica Fume [Type I aggregate (4.75
ordinary & 9.5) mm sieve
Various types of mineral admixture have been added Portland
to prepare the geopolymer pervious concrete for getting cement]
the desired compressive strength keeping in view adequate 10 Fly ash[class F] -- -- --
amount of pore to sustain the permeability characteristics
of the same. Based on various circumstances and as per 3. Mix Proportion
the required characteristics of the GPC the mineral The constituents of the various components of the
admixtures like nanoSiO2, NaOH, Na2SiO3, etc. has been concrete to be used in the development of geopolymer
used. For instance Nano SiO2 with purity > 90% having pervious concrete need to be chosen adequately in order to
particle size 20–30 nm has been used [2]. The get the desired properties as well as the desired
compressive strength upsurge with the upsurge in sodium characteristics (Fig. 1). The various proportions off the mix
silicate / NaOH ratio up to 1.50. beyond this the upsurge adopted by the authors as listed in Tables-3 and 4. [6][7].
results in a reduction of strength due to difficulty in the TABLE 4: MIX PROPORTION AS PREPARED BY AUTHOR [6]
compaction of mix because of its stiffness [3]. Mix ratio of
Mix no. Mix Proportion(kg/m3)
Sodium hydroxide& sodium silicate lies between 1:2 to
FA Na2SiO3 NaOH(10 NaOH(1 NaOH Aggregat
1:3.2 [7],[3]. M) 5M) (20M) e
35PGC10 221 25.5 51 – – 1768
2.3 Coarse Aggregate 35PGC15 221 25.5 – 51 – 1768
35PGC20 221 25.5 – – 51 1768
This is the major constituent particle that plays vital 40PGC10 221 29.5 59 – – 1768
40PGC15 221 29.5 – 59 – 1768
role in the performance of the pervious concrete. The pore
40PGC20 221 29.5 – – 59 1768
structure, thus the permeability of the structure is 45PGC10 221 33.0 66 – – 1768
responsible for this ingredient of concrete. Some authors 45PGC15 221 33.0 – 66 – 1768
use limestone as coarse aggregate while some use natural 45PGC20 221 33.0 – – 66 1768
376 Innovations in Structural Engineering

TABLE 5: MIX PROPORTION AS PREPARED BY AUTHOR [7] maintaining proper temperature condition for the hydration
Mixes Mix Proportion (kg/m3 ) process to take place so that the formation of the C-H-S gel
FA Na2SiO3 NaOH NaOH NaOH Coarse takes place and hence there is absolute gain in the strength
(10 M) (15 M) (20 M) Aggregates
NA RC RB
of the made sample. Different authors cure their samples as
NA10 221 33 66 – – 1768 – – per their own research work like oven drying / heat curing,
NA15 221 33 – 66 – 1768 – – ambient curing etc. one of the author cured the sample at 60
0
NA20 221 33 – – 66 1768 – – C for a duration of 48 hours and then stored it in a
RC10 221 33 66 – – – 176 – controlled environment of 23 ± 2 0C & 50% RH until the
RC15 221 33 – 66 – – 8 –
RC20 221 33 – – 66 – 176 –
testing age [7].
RB10 221 33 66 – – – 8 1768
RB15 221 33 – 66 – – 176 1768 6. Test & Results
RB20 221 33 – – 66 – 8 1768
6.1 Void Content &Water Permeability
Proportion of fine & coarse aggregate, sodium silicate
& sodium hydroxide ratios, alkaline minerals to fly ash Both of the experiments were performed utilizing a
and other constituents of the mix need to be selected cylinder having diameter of 100mm and height of 200 mm
properly in order to have the typical strength [6], [7]. & utilizing the principle of constant head water
permeability [6][7]. The diagram of the same is given
below fig. 2. The cylindrical sample was placed in the
4. Preparation Technique
PVC pipe and fastened by circular clamps. The
Different authors have prepared the mix utilizing permeability test was done when a steady state flow was
various parameters and the results also depict the need of achieved.[6].
the same. For instance a sample procedure for the
preparation of GPC is mentioned below as depicted by one
of the author [7] The room temperature was maintained at
250C. Mixing of fly ash and sodium hydroxide for 5
minutes in a pan type mixer & incorporated Coarse
aggregate which is mixed for 4 more minutes. Then
addition of sodium silicate is carried out and the mix was
agitated for a minute. The prepared sample is then placed
in the cylindrical mould. In order to control the moisture
reduction the prepared sample is then wrapped in an thin
plastic sheet maintained at 250C for an hour.

5. Curing

Fig. 2 Permeability Test Set Up

6.2 Compressive Strength

Because of the high void content, the densities ofGPC
were quite low ranging from 1680 to 1820 kg/m3 which
were nearly 30% lower than that of the conventional
concrete (about 2400 kg/m3). High-calcium fly ash
geopolymer could be used to produce pervious concrete
Fig. 1: Samples with Different Alkaline Liquid/FA (L/A) Ratios
having compressive strengths between 5.4 to 11.4 MPa.
Curing plays a vital role in obtaining the desired
Below mentioned Table 5 sums up the various test
strength parameters of the concrete. This helps in
results as obtained by various authors.
 Review on Geopolymer Pervious Concrete 377

TABLE 6: TEST PARAMETERS [2],[3],[6],[7]

Ref. Test Performed Compressive Splitting Tensile Void Content Water Flow of Paste Density Thermal
Strength Strength Permeability Conductivity
2 Flow paste, 22.2 MPa -- -- -- 4.8% -146.3%, -- --
compressive (75% < 33.4%
strength &> 60.6%)
6 Compressive 5.4 to11.4 MPa 0.7 to 1.4 MPa 28.7 to 30.4% 1.92 to 5.96 cm/s -- -- --
strength splitting
tensile strength,
Void content, water
permeability
7 Compressive 4.0–11.2 MPa -- -- -- -- 1000 to 1300 0.52 to 0.69
strength, density, kg/m3 W/mK
Thermal
conductivity
3 Density, 2.9 to 13.6 Mpa 0.4 to 1.8 Mpa -- -- -- 1420 to 1840 --
compressive Kg/m3
strength, splitting
tensile strength

7. Conclusion
In order to expand the use of fly ash geopolymer
binder, pervious geopolymer concretes (GPCs) were
prepared from alkali activated lignite high-calcium fly ash
binder and coarse aggregate. The recycled aggregate from
crushed structural concrete member (RC) and crushed clay
bricks (RB) could be used as coarse aggregates for making
pervious geopolymer concrete (GPC) using highcalcium
fly ash as a source material. The high void contents at
28.7–30.4% led to the high water permeability coefficients
between 1.92 and 5.96 cm/s. Because of the high void
content, the densities of GPC were low between 1680 and
1820 kg/m 3 which were approximately 30% lower than
that of the conventional concrete. The relationships of
density and compressive strength, splitting tensile and
compressive strength, and total void ratio and water
permeability coefficient in pervious high-calcium fly ash
geopolymer concrete incorporating recycled coarse
aggregates were similar to those of conventional pervious
concrete. The total void ratio and water permeability
coefficient of the PGCs with different NaOH
concentrations but the same aggregate and geopolymer
paste content were not very different.
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